It’s a question we ask casually and understand intuitively just about every day: “What’s the temperature today?” We’re enquiring, of course, as to whether pants, a jacket, shorts or suncream are appropriate – but you won’t find these types of references to sunny or chilly days in a physics textbook. Ask a scientist, and they will tell you that temperature is merely a metric representing the average kinetic energy of particles, but in the real world we all know we simply reach for a thermometer to give us the answer.
However, “use a thermometer” is not nearly an accurate enough picture to describe how the spectrum of commercial, industrial and manufacturing industries should go about measuring and monitoring the temperatures that matter to them.
Temperature is absolutely key to food production, brewing, and the manufacturing of metal, plastics and so much more. Get it right, and you’ve got your business right. Get it wrong, and you have poor or even dangerous products, and you’re putting your operations and staff at risk. Global distributors like RS Components will typically serve your needs, if you know where to invest.
We all know about those sealed, liquid-filled tubes that we call thermometers, which work on the basic principle that as the temperature heats up, the liquid rises and we read off the temperature in degrees. But to understand the other ways the industrial world deals with and controls temperature, let’s go a little deeper:
1. Resistance detectors
While a basic thermometer operates on the principle of liquid heat, Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTDs) are not interested in liquid – they’re interested in metal. More specifically, they’re interested in the fact that the resistance of any metal is affected by temperature. RTDs therefore use well-understood metals like platinum, monitor how much resistance is taking place as electricity flows through it, and converts that resistance from Ohms into a temperature reading.
2. Infrared
Another way to measure heat is by monitoring the infrared radiation of an application. Think of it like this: while a red car always looks red to your eyes, if you look at it through an infrared detector, you’ll see its heat signature – which is picking up on the infrared light frequency of its radiant energy. It may sound complex, but infrared technology is super helpful to industry because surface temperatures can be monitored from afar.
3. Change-of-state devices
When you think of high-technology temperature-measuring devices, you probably don’t immediately start thinking of labels, pellets, lacquers or liquid crystals, right? But this category of temperature measurement device, which all work on the basis that a physical, noticeable and usually visual change occurs at certain temperatures, is very useful to industry. Sensor labels on steam traps, for instance, turn black at excessive temperatures, and they’re also useful as an easy indicator of temperature during shipping for certain sensitive products.
4. Temperature logger
While all the technology types above simply measure or indicate temperature, the temperature logger does some even heavier lifting. This type of data logger doesn’t just detect a single temperature in real time – it records these values over time. The time-frame can be weeks or even months, with the stored data proving a invaluable resource when used in conjunction with specialised software. Meaningful graphs and reports can be produced that help food, health, manufacturing and scientific industries better understand and improve their operations.
Temperature: More than meets the eye
But it’s doesn’t stop there! There’s actually a huge range of other and related technologies that measure and monitor temperature, whether it’s a thermister, a thermocouple, an air probe, a pyrometer, or one of the vast range of temperature loggers that will make your industrial task or operation easier, safer and more efficient.
